In the video above, reporter Maggie Reilly talks with Nichole Linder, who is the third-generation owner of Electric City Brake & Alignment in Great Falls. The shop is at 500 Eighth Avenue South in Great Falls.
At the young age of 22, Nichole Linder has become the third generation to own and operate Electric City Brake and Alignment in Great Falls.
In 1984, Electric City Brake and Alignment joined the Linder family after Delano Linder, Nichole’s grandfather, purchased the business. In 2005, the business was then taken over by his son, Jim Linder.
Throughout the years Jim became well known in the Great Falls community with a passion to give back. Silently he faced something no one in his family saw coming - Jim was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. After a long fight battling the cancer for almost twenty years, Jim passed away peacefully, with his family by his side, at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas on September 5, 2022.
As Jim’s only child, Nichole describes their relationship as one you would have with your best friend.
She had this to say, “My dad was my best friend, that's for sure. We did everything together. Losing him was really hard. So I think that's why I kept this place going as long as I could ,and long as I can. I will continue and I won't ever see this business go out of my family, that's for sure. I want his legacy to keep going”.
Taking over this business was not easy task. Nichole and staff had to push through some difficult times but have made it out to the other side. Nichole describes staff as “the heart of the company” and expresses her appreciation for their continued support.
Manager RJ Mooney had this to say about Nichole, “She's hard-nosed, go get it. She doesn't take it from anybody. Yeah, she's a female version of Jim”.
One of Nichole’s passions was actually passed down from her father. His hope, to make sure every woman who came into the shop felt comfortable, well educated, and taken care of like family.
As a now woman-owned business, Nichole hopes to continue with her father’s mission.
“In the automotive business, especially, there is a stigma that girls have to call their dads. I don't want them to feel like they have to call their dads, their boyfriends, their husbands, when they come into my shop because they know they're being taken care of and not being pushed around” Linder explained.
Next year, in 2024, Electric City Brake and Alignment will have operated under the Linder family name for 40 years.
Family - well that’s key to their success.“We take everything very personally here as far as our personal relationship with customers. You're not going to feel like you're at a big company. When you walk in those doors, you're going to feel like family,” Linder said.
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